Bernie Ecclestone seems to have had a slight change of heart about the new teams. At the start of November, his attitude on Lotus, Virgin and Hispania was that “… We need to get rid of a few of those cripples. They do nothing for us. They are an embarrassment.” By the end of the month, perhaps realising that maybe it isn’t such a great idea to criticise the sport he runs, Ecclestone was happy to point the finger of blame for it all…

The Mexican grand prix in 1991 was the last time that a Porsche powered F1 car raced. In the hands of Michele Alboreto and Alex Caffi, the Footwork Porsche cars failed to qualify for most races and when they did make the start the cars wouldn’t last long before suffering reliability gremlins. It was an unfitting end to the German manufacturer tenure in the sport, with them having won three world championships in the 1980s with Mclaren. However, Porsche may be about to put all of this right.

The appeal of …

USF1 failed but Hispania, Virgin, Lotus and Sauber (courtesy of USF1’s failure) all finally made it to the 2010 grid. However, that was only the start of their difficulties and as they take a break, it’s perhaps a good time to reflect on the reliability issues that have hampered their respective seasons so far. They may have had no delusions about the possibility of finishing first, but the other half of the old Formula One mantra: “…first you’ve got to finish” will be playing heavily on their minds. Tony Fernandes …

Whilst many women do achieve recognition at lower levels, the perception is that it’s harder for a woman to get to the very top of her profession compared to her male counterparts. It seems that this invisible ceiling is also present in motorsports and it’s something that Jean Todt, President of the FIA is keen to address.

I am really surprised about which direction the support for the 107% qualifying rule is coming from. Ferrari yes, we’re quite clear on the fact that they’re not exactly best friends with the riff raff down at the other end of the pitlane. Similarly, I can easily understand why other front running teams might not like having to repeatedly lap slow backmarkers. Fans will have their opinion one way or another, personally I’m against the idea but what is really surprising is that the FIA is so keen on the …

How nice it is to move on from USF1 and actually talk about the three teams that will be in Bahrain? Most of the attention is inevitably focussed on the sharp end of the grid with four World Champions and a raft of teams all looking capable of winning a race in 2010. Yet, for me at least, the back of the grid is every bit as intriguing. Three new teams hoping to make their mark, perhaps only hoping to survive their first season, and having got to Bahrain in …